There are few things I respect as much in the music world than old men who play live shows as if it’s their last day on earth! Seeing David Yow, at a whopping 64 years old, launch himself into the audience, with seemingly no consideration to his physical wholeness – and not just see it but feel it, by trying to heave his not quite lightweight body upwards – is truly, wholly awe inducing. Fronting one of the most legendary Noise Rock bands, which includes one of the greatest rhythm sections operating and a lead guitarist that has influenced pretty much every modern Punk band (including Kurt Cobain), Yow is a sardonic, boundless, anarchistic force, drenched in sweat and shirt ripped open, calling the audience to join him to yell “FUUUUUUUCK TRUUUUUUMP”.
In strong contrast, the night opens with the duo of Alexander Hacke and wife Danielle de Picciotto. Under the name hackedepicciotto, the former bassist of Einstürzende Neubauten and his partner play a thoroughly charming experimental set that ranges from Darkwave to Post-Punk and Art-Rock. Tinged with European Folk melodies and led by their strong voices, it’s a very enjoyable opening to the evening, which soon, as Yow and his band enter the stage, descends into madness! “We are the Foo Fighters, and we fucking suck!”, Yow announces, and with opener “Puss”, immediately launches himself into the front row, and has himself carried through the room. The energy in the room quickly becomes electric, as the crowd at Berlin’s legendary SO36 is absolutely on fire!
Yow clearly enjoys seeing the mosh pit lose its collective mind – the suspicion might arise that his look and rough demeanour is part of a well rehearsed alter ego, as he dives into the crowd three times total, until his shirt is ripped and pants pulled dangerously low. My god, his sheer physicality, as he jumps from the stage, grabs front row attendees around their necks, climbs over barricades and wails around the room is true dedication! He only briefly takes a break, when he asks “Can I bum a cigarette?” – which an attendee very much supplies – drags out a bar stool to sit, and dives into the intense “Thumbscrews”, a quiet (by The Jesus Lizard standards) spoken word piece, the cigarette firmly tugged behind his ear. Suddenly, Yow becomes a bad comedian, losing his train of thought to a silent audience, who nonetheless are hypnotised, until the piece is over and Yow takes the sweat drenched, broken cigarette from behind his ear and hurls it back at the front row.
Like “Thumbscrew”, the songs of latest album Rack are live truly explosive, but the set as a whole is absolutely fantastic, with the audience favourites possibly being the brilliant first five songs off Goat and pummelling renditions of “Boilermaker” and “Gladiator”. Drummer Mac McNeilly carries the heaviest weight of the group, slaughtering his drum set and basking his face and torso with water – an absolutely crushing performance, while the stoic David Sims stares into the crowd like a waiting executioner. Duane Denison seems oddly relaxed for a guitarist delivering such heavy riffs, highly professional and graceful. Yow stays acidic throughout, at one point introducing a song saying it played when he first had sex with Alexander Hacke! The standout moment of the night comes at the end of the first encore (yes, first!!), as a front row attendee pulls out a 50€ bill and hands it to Yow. With just one second of thought, Yow grabs the bill, stuffs it into his mouth and eats it. A moment like this is the perfect reminder the genre The Jesus Lizard play is often dubbed “Pigfuck”, truly fitting! How was the 50? “It was De-LI-cious!!”
The Jesus Lizard play for a total of 90 minutes, returning for two encores, delivering a total 23 songs!! Yow, of course, takes this as a mean to hurl even more vulgarities towards the audience, mockingly commanding them to continue clapping and yelling for the first round, and later sticking out his butt sideways and throwing kisses at the crowd. “You get three more songs, and then you’ll never see us again”, he introduces the second encore. As fans moan and make noise for their disappointment, Yow giggles. “No, it is freeing, really”. With “If You Had Lips”, “Cost of Living” and “Bloody Mary”, he closes the night, visibly happy and exhausted, thanking the crowd in every language left inside his mind. I hope to god the first won’t be the last time that I see this extraordinary group, but if this is it – by god, they have shown how monumental and riveting the entity known as The Jesus Lizard, 36 years into their existence, are. Pay whatever money you’ve left to see them – Yow might eat it, after all!
(All gallery photos below courtesy of Ingrid Sofia Hedenström.)
